How to describe a student performance, and how do you describe an audition? Perhaps on the basis of their purpose: a fun night for one and a place in an orchestra for the other. But a concert is a lot more fun than an audition! Both Joop, my piano partner, and I had fun playing Haydn; a combination of careful attention, immediate feedback and six other things I cannot remember give rise to an experience that M. Csíkszentmihály called flow, which gives great satisfaction especially afterwards. The piano pieces played were equally enjoyable: a Haydn sonata, and pieces by Albeniz (Sevilla), Mussorgsky (the Old Castle, one of the paintings in an exhibition), and Grieg (Melancholy).The experience of the audition today was instead more like stagnation: due to the tension of the moment the bow arm did not function properly. This resulted in a few failed spiccatoruns and not much worse, but it did not make for pleasant music. And the three men behind the table, with their pens and paper, must have heard.I have to wait: tomorrow I will know if I am accepted into the orchestra.

Meanwhile I'd better practice bulletproof musicianship.

Thanks again for your encouragement. Karen was right: this is the right amount of violin activity.

In my violin propositions for 2010 I included "finding people to play with". Well, I found them. One is a colleague microbiologist cum pianist, and next Friday I'm going to play in a Haydn sonata with him; the other is a new "chamber symphony orchestra" (huh? what's that? we'll see). Auditions are Saturday morning, after the Haydn concert, and I've let my wonderful teacher talk me into playing a Mozart concerto (K 216). There are three orchestral excerpts to prepare, as well: from the Scherzo from Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream, from Mozart's 39th Symphony, and from Brahms' Second.

Wish me luck; I need it!

Edit: it's not a Chamber Symphony Orchestra, but a Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra. I have no idea what that is, either.